Institutionalization of knowledge management In manufacturing enterprises in Kenya: A case of selected companies.

Abstract

In the fast changing business environment, knowledge has become the mainstay of every organization in creating and sustaining competitive differentiation. This study sought to investigate factors that influence institutionalization of Knowledge Management (KM) in manufacturing enterprises in Kenya. The specific objectives were to determine the current status of Knowledge Management institutionalization, examine factors that influence institutionalization of knowledge management and the challenges in institutionalization of knowledge management in the manufacturing enterprise. The target population was 60 senior managers in the three selected manufacturing companies. The researcher took a census of the heads of departments and deputy heads of departments in charge of the following departments: human resource, ICT, Finance, marketing, Procurement, Production, Internal audit, administration, Research & Development, public relations and communications, operations and engineering. The response rate was 88.3%. A combination of descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis was used to analyze the data. The study established that 50.9% of the respondents understood knowledge management as developing and utilizing knowledge to increase organizational performance and to meet strategic goals and 49.1% indicated it’s about creating, sustaining, sharing and making the best use of available knowledge to enhance organizational performance. The growth of business and retention of market share (mean, 3.6226), improving quality in production (mean, 3.5283) and creation and sustaining strategic competitive advantage (mean, 3.4906) were the major reasons for embracing knowledge management. For organizations to sustain capability to compete in the market, they should not only embrace, but also recognize knowledge as a firm’s core asset that is central to organizational performance. This requires that manufacturing enterprises institutionalize knowledge management practices to facilitate sharing of knowledge and application to sustain continuous improvement of products and processes. This study established that the organizational practices and the technological infrastructure are two critical factors that influence institutionalization of knowledge management in the manufacturing enterprise in Kenya. The study found out that developing a knowledge sharing culture (mean, 2.9623), top management support (mean, 2.8113) and lack of time for knowledge sharing (mean, 2.8077) are the major challenges in institutionalization of knowledge management in this sector. The study recommends that the leadership of these organizations should develop an explicit knowledge management policy in the same breadth with quality policy and health and safety policy. They should restructure their organizational structure to include the position of Chief Knowledge Officer who shall drive the knowledge management agenda in the organization. The researcher recommends that to institutionalize knowledge management, the organizational leadership should put more emphasis on the organizational practices. Further research should be done on the effects of organizational practices on successful institutionalization of knowledge management in manufacturing or service industry.